Guards
The Guards card is unlocked from the Royal Arena (Arena 7). It spawns three single-target, melee-ranged Skeletons with low hitpoints, medium damage, and shields in addition to their normal health. A Guards card costs 3 Elixir to deploy. They appear similar to the Giant Skeleton due to their underbite but are very different in size. They also have the same diagonal scar as normal Skeletons, but have a few exceptions like wooden spears which Spear Goblins bear, wooden shields, and Dark Prince helmets. They are also a bit larger than normal Skeletons. Strategy *Because of the Guards' low Elixir cost and shields, they are a low-risk, high-reward card. They can eliminate ground troops like groups of Skeletons and can distract air troops like Minions, making them a good defensive option. *No matter how much damage is inflicted onto the shield, the Guard behind it will remain intact, just like the Dark Prince. This means that not even a Sparky shot or Rocket can destroy a Guard while it still has its shield. *The Guards can be used effectively to counter a lone Sparky. With their shield, they can withstand a blow from the Sparky and destroy her before she shoots a second time. For better results, surround her so only one Guard gets hit with the blast. They will quickly destroy Sparky with the help of a Tower, leaving the player two Guards with shields and one without. *Guards are an excellent counter to the Prince due to them being able to tank a charge and 5 more hits. In fact, they can counter the vast majority of single-target troops. *The Guards can be countered with area damage troops or buildings. The Fire Spirits and Bomber are most effective, but the Wizard or the Bomb Tower are also good (but expensive) alternative options. **Fire Spirits will completely take out Guards for a positive Elixir trade. **Ice Spirit can be used to counter them, freezing them and allowing your Crown Tower to finish them off. **The Log can make short work of the Guards since it knocks off the Guards' shields, making them weak enough for the Arena Tower to finish them off. *The Guards are a good alternative to Barbarians if the player needs to keep their deck cheap as they cost two less Elixir. The trade-off is that the Guards have all-around lower statistics except for speed. *Level 7 or higher Guards' shields can survive a tournament standard Zap. *Guards are great for defending against the Graveyard, since they are more durable than regular Skeletons and have a longer range, and their shields prevent them from being killed by a Fireball or Zap alone. For similar reasons, they are also effective at countering the Miner, capable of tanking multiple hits from him. *Guards are more effective at defending than attacking. It should be used to gain positive elixir trades and counter pushing. Sending them to push is usually not a good idea, due to them having relatively low attack speed and low speed. However, they can be effective with a glass-cannon like the Mini P.E.K.K.A. *Guards are terrible at assaulting a Crown Tower due to their low hitpoints and vulnerability to splash units. With that being said, they excel at forming a counter-push when they survive from a defense. When using them for a push, they are typically best used to tank for the main push. Vice versa, if your Guards are out of rotation, you can use other cards to defend an incoming push, and cycle to your Guards. Once the units are done defending, the Guards can be dropped in front of any residual units, resulting in a strong counter-push, as the Guards can collectively tank 12 shots from the arena tower. *When the Three Musketeers are coming to a Crown Tower without support, once the player's Crown Tower targets the Three Musketeers they can do a quick drop of Guards then Ice Spirit. The first guard will absorb the instant 3 burst shots from the Three Musketeers and then the Ice Spirit will freeze them for 1 second which is enough time for the 2 remaining guards and Crown Tower to finish off the remaining Musketeers. *Guards are actually able to attack from a very short range because of their spears, similar to the Prince. Because of this, they can poke at a distracted Valkyrie without taking any damage, setting you up for a counter-push. *The Guards are quite effective at slowing down mini tanks and tanks, preferably the Prince and P.E.K.K.A., as they have to strike each Guard twice, which will cause you to have an elixir advantage. History *The Guards were added to the game on 3/5/16 with the May 2016 Update. *On 18/5/16, a Balance Update increased the Guards' hitpoints and damage by 8%. *On 21/6/16, a Balance Update removed the pushback when their shields break. *On 12/12/17, a Balance Update increased the Guards’ hitpoints and damage by 5% and their hit speed to 1.1 seconds (from 1.2 seconds). Trivia *The Guards are one of the 11 cards associated with Skeletons, including the Skeletons, Bomber, Skeleton Army, Witch, Tombstone, Bomb Tower, Giant Skeleton, Balloon, Skeleton Barrel, and Graveyard. *The Guards have many appearance traits similar to that of other cards, like Skeletons, Giant Skeleton, Dark Prince, Spear Goblins, etc. *They seem to have an underbite, similar to the Giant Skeleton. *The Guards, Royal Recruits, Dark Prince and Cannon Cart are the only 4 cards to have a shield along with their own health. * The Guards' spears allow them to have a slight attack range, similar to the Prince and Night Witch. This means that the Guards can attack a distracted Valkyrie without being damaged. de:Wächter es:Guardias fr:Gardes it:Guardie ru:Стражи